HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Friday, 19 May 2006
ANNAN DISCUSSED U.N. REFORM, NORTH KOREA AND IRAN WITH CHINA'S PRESIDENT
Secretary-General Kofi Annan arrived in Beijing today to begin the third leg of his Asia trip.
He began his official visit with a meeting with President Hu Jintao that spilled over into a working banquet hosted by the Chinese leader at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
They discussed a wide range of topics including UN reform, the Iranian situation, North Korea, the Chinese President’s visit to Africa, regional issues, the Middle East, and avian flu.
During his stay, the Secretary-General plans to meet Premier Wen Jiabao and State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan. He will also give a speech at Beijing University, and hold a question and answer session with students there.
NEXT FEW WEEKS “ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL” FOR MILLIONS OF PEOPLE IN SUDAN AND CHAD
The Security Council was briefed this morning by the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Jan Egeland, on his recent trip to Sudan and Chad.
Egeland said that what he saw in Darfur and eastern Chad drove home how much was really at stake. The next few weeks would be absolutely critical for millions of people in that region, he added.
On Sudan, he said we must do everything we could, to achieve certain immediate goals, namely: implementing the peace agreement and bringing on board those who had not yet signed it; immediately and substantially strengthening the African Union Mission; taking concrete steps to accelerate the transition to a UN operation; and ensuring that the humanitarian lifeline to more than three million people was secure and funded.
Egeland referred to the shortfall of $389 million for Darfur alone, saying that it had led to feeding centers being closed, and internally displaced persons losing access to free health care in hospitals.
On Chad, he drew attention to insecurity, which was causing UN agencies to reduce their staff on the ground at a time when needs were continuing to increase.
ANNAN SENDS ENVOY TO SUDAN TO CONTINUE DIALOGUE
In response to questions about the Secretary-General sending an envoy to Sudan, the Spokesman confirmed that as part of the continuing dialogue with the Government of Sudan, the Secretary-General has decided to send Lakhdar Brahimi to Khartoum as his Special Envoy. Brahimi will be accompanied by Hédi Annabi, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations.
They will conduct consultations with the Government of Sudan on the role the UN could play in the implementation of the Darfur Peace Agreement, including the proposed transition from the African Union force to a UN peacekeeping operation.
Meanwhile, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Sudan, Jan Pronk, is still in Darfur, where he is continuing his efforts to widen the circle of support for the Darfur Peace Agreement. He is due back in Khartoum this coming weekend.
Asked about the deployment of Brahimi to Sudan, the Spokesman noted that Brahimi had said, prior to his retirement, that he would be available to the Secretary-General for special assignments. “His experience in Africa and the Arab world speak for themselves,” Dujarric said.” This is one of those moments when he will be of very good use to the United Nations.”
The Spokesman said the dispatch of Brahimi and Annabi for the meetings – which are to be held mid-week – is part of the UN’s ongoing dialogue with the Sudanese government to prepare for the proposed transition from an African Union force to a UN peacekeeping operation. “Obviously with Mr. Brahimi’s dispatch, the intensity of that dialogue is increasing,” Dujarric added.
Asked how their dispatch affects the Security Council’s call for the deployment of a joint African Union and UN technical assessment mission within one week of the adoption of Security Council Resolution 1679 – which was adopted on 16 May – the Spokesman said the Secretariat and the Government of Sudan were well aware of the time frame included in that resolution and that the UN is trying to move things as quickly as possible. In response to a question on whether the Sudanese Government had given permission for the assessment mission to go to Darfur, the Spokesman said it had not yet given permission.
Asked what topics the meetings of Brahimi and Annabi will address, the Spokesman said they will discuss the role of the UN in the implementation of the Darfur peace agreement as well as preparation for the proposed UN force in Darfur.
Asked about communication between the Secretary-General and the Government of Sudan, the Spokesman said that over the past few days, the Secretary-General had spoken to Vice-President Ali Osman Taha and Mustafa Asman Ismail, President Omar Bashir’s special adviser.
Asked about the Secretary-General’s recent comments about the need for haste in preventing a deterioration of the situation on the ground in Darfur, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General’s message is clear: there is not a moment to lose, on the humanitarian front and on funding, as well as aid for the African Union in Darfur which is under-funded and under-manned and needs international support now.
Asked how many countries have said they would contribute to a UN operation in Darfur, the Spokesman said the assessment mission is needed first so as to make detailed plans of what would be required, and then Member States would be officially approached for troops and logistical support.
”But before we do that, Member States who have the capabilities should start thinking now about what they will be able to offer,” Dujarric said. “Just because people have not been officially approached doesn’t mean that they can’t start thinking about what will happen when we come knocking.”
U.N. OPERATION IN COTE D'IVOIRE HELPS PREPARE FOR ELECTIONS
The UN Operation in Cote d'Ivoire (UNOCI) today is hosting the 7th ministerial-level meeting of the International Working Group which has been mandated to monitor progress in the Ivorian peace process and to help prepare for elections.
UNOCI also reports that yesterday it sent some 60 staff members to seven sites across the country to assist in the public hearings to prepare the ground for the citizen identification process. Citizen identification and disarmament are seen as crucial steps towards national reconciliation there.
U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS CHIEF: CAMBODIA NEEDS INDEPENDENT, PROFESSIONAL JUDICIARY
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, says that an independent, professional judiciary is of "capital importance" for the consolidation of democracy in Cambodia.
Arbour’s comments come at the end of her first visit to Cambodia, where she said she’d been told repeatedly of positive developments in the country since the UN-organized polls of 1993 – including stability, economic growth and regular elections. However, she pointed out, that the country still had difficulties to overcome, as the findings of successive UN human rights experts had shown.
Arbour said she left Cambodia reassured by the government’s commitment to strengthening cooperation in human rights and determined to ensure that "our work yields tangible benefits for the protection of human rights in Cambodia".
NUMBER OF RECENT SRI LANKAN REFUGEES IN INDIA PASSES 1,000
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reports that since the beginning of the year, when people started fleeing the deteriorating security situation in Sri Lanka, more than 1,000 people have arrived in southern India. Yesterday, 102 people arrived, the largest number in a single day since the outflow began.
UNHCR said the latest movement is a complete reversal of what had happened in 2005, when UNHCR helped more than a thousand Sri Lankan refugees return home from camps in southern India.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
ERITREA-ETHIOPIA BOUNDARY COMMISSION MUST COMMENT ON ITS OWN PROGRESS: Asked if the United Nations considered that the latest meeting of the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission, held in London earlier this week, had achieved any progress, the Spokesman later said that it was up to the Commission to comment on that matter.
RAPPORTEUR FOR VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN HEADS TO TURKEY: Yakin Ertürk, the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, will conduct a fact-finding mission in Turkey from 22 to 31 May 2006. The Special Rapporteur has scheduled visits to Ankara, Batman, Van and Sanliurfa to gather firsthand information on the question of violence against women in the country. A specific focus of the mission will be on suicides of women and girls. During the visit, the Special Rapporteur will meet with representatives of the Government and non-governmental organizations, as well as UN officials and victims’ families.
U.N. FOOD AGENCY SAYS BIRD FLU A LONG TERM EXPENSE: The current avian flu crisis is not only an immediate, short-term problem, it is likely to be a continuing emergency that will last several years, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said today. The prospect of a human pandemic aside, the damage the disease will cause to bird populations, and domestic poultry in particular, is tremendous, the agency said. The knock-on effect on the poultry sector is enormous and it could deal a significant blow to local, national and regional economies, according to the FAO.
NO COMMENT ON THE COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE’S FINDINGS: Asked if the Secretary-General endorsed the recommendations of the Committee against Torture on the closure of detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay, the Spokesman said it was not up for the Secretary-General to endorse or reject those findings. He added that the Secretary-General’s views on Guantanamo are clear and still stand, and these are that it should be closed, people cannot be detained in perpetuity without any charges brought against them and that those detained have the opportunity to defend themselves.
***The guest at the Noon Briefing was the Secretary-General’s outgoing Special Representative for Haiti, Juan Gabriel Valdes. He gave a briefing on the situation in Haiti.
THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS
20 - 26 May 2006
Sunday, May 21
Today is World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development.
Monday, May 22
Today is the International Day for Biological Diversity.
The Review Conference on the 1995 Agreement for the Conservation and Management of Straddling and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks will meet in Conference Room 1 from 22 to 26 May.
In commemoration of the UN’s 60th anniversary and the 50th anniversary of Japan's membership in the UN, a concert will be held in the General Assembly Hall from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Performing will be the Asian Artists & Concerts Orchestra, which consists of 60 young Asian musicians from countries including China, Japan and Korea.
Yakin Ertürk, the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, will conduct a fact-finding mission in Turkey from 22 to 31 May.
The World Health Organization’s 59th World Health Assembly starts meeting in Geneva.
Tuesday, May 23
The Secretary-General leaves China for Vietnam, to begin his official visit there.
The Security Council will hold consultations this morning on Cote d’Ivoire.
Wednesday, May 24
The Security Council will hold consultations this morning on the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the afternoon, it will hold an open briefing, followed by consultations, on the Middle East.
Thursday, May 25
At 11:00 a.m., the World Bank will host a briefing on this year's Global Development Finance Report, which looks at surging international private capital flows, particularly between developing countries, and record high economic growth in the developing world.
The guest at the noon briefing will be Abdoulaye Mar Dieye, Humanitarian Coordinator and the Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative for Cote d’Ivoire.
Friday, May 26
The Secretary-General will begin his official visit to Thailand.
Immediately following the noon briefing, UNICEF Executive Director Ann Veneman and others will launch a new report by the Global Movement for Children.
At 1:15, David Balton, the US representative to the Review Conference on the Agreement Relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks, will hold a press conference.
At 3:00, Ambassadors Emyr Jones Parry of the UK and Jean-Marc de la Sabliere of France will hold a press briefing on the Security Council missions to Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General
United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055
